Whiteagle wrote:...And that's where you hit my problem, where you don't live ANYWHERE near anything!

Yeah, that's an issue. No gaming store, no college campus, no friendly local retailer, and if none of the people you work with/engage in other extracurriculars with want to try it out, you're boned.

There are some online resources. Forum play by post RPGs, chatrooms, and the like. There are also a couple of programs which are basically glorified dice macros rammed together with a chat interface (sometimes they include basic mapping functions) you could use if you already have people interested and the only real problem is distance. Maybe even guild members from an MMO if you're short on real people. I'm not a huge fan of online RP...it can be fun sometimes but it'll never match the tabletop experience. But hey, if its your only option.

Quantumsurfer wrote:...if none of the people you work with/engage in other extracurriculars with want to try it out, you're boned.

..You guys interact with people outside of the Internet/Vocational rehabilitation?

Quantumsurfer wrote:There are some online resources. Forum play by post RPGs, chatrooms, and the like. There are also a couple of programs which are basically glorified dice macros rammed together with a chat interface (sometimes they include basic mapping functions) you could use if you already have people interested and the only real problem is distance. Maybe even guild members from an MMO if you're short on real people. I'm not a huge fan of online RP...it can be fun sometimes but it'll never match the tabletop experience. But hey, if its your only option.

Yeah, my first and so far only real DnD game was over at the 910cmx forums, where I was assured I didn't need any books or materials other then an online d20SRD wiki and a Character sheet generator...

Went alright, until the game died at the first encounter......Our DM apparently lost whatever modual he was working from, and the uncommetted nature of the Internet meant the party wasn't terribly concerned with continuing...

stubby wrote:I think D&D is best when it's full of fights you can't win.

I completely agree, and (this goes for videogames too) is why I always lead myself to the most punishing of settings and genres- my favorite D&D setting is Dark Sun, where, instead of getting mithril armor at level 1, you have to fight tooth and nail to get your first *metal* weapon at level 5! It's why I love shooters like Metro 2033 where half of the time my ammo counts are measured in single digits, games like Shadowrun where even the best-optimized character can still die from a lucky shot by a punk with a zip gun, and any other absolutely horrible situation that can be explored in a safe, fictional way.

To a lesser extent I think this is why I also have such a love of backpacking, rock climbing, and most physical sportsactivities things to do where the environment is the challenge (skiing, biking, whatever). Except of course fucking up and spending 6 weeks in a cast is not so fun, but I think it is a more than fair trade for years of pushing yourself to greater heights.

Whiteagle wrote:I don't know, is the DM going to loose the Module right when we get to the first encounter?

Probably. DnD is one of those things that constantly falls apart, especially when people base the bad experiences off of a single attempt in which they expected someone else to put together the adventure for them ended up not coming through as basis for what will happen the next time when they do the same thing.

Whiteagle wrote:I don't know, is the DM going to loose the Module right when we get to the first encounter?

Probably. DnD is one of those things that constantly falls apart, especially when people base the bad experiences off of a single attempt in which they expected someone else to put together the adventure for them ended up not coming through as basis for what will happen the next time when they do the same thing.

What?!A guy gets us all psyched up for a game, promising everything will be hunky-dory despite my never having played before, then when it looks like something is about to happen the entire thing goes kaput!